How To Survive In The Streets

Surviving Serious Physical Assaults

These days serious physical assaults can occur anytime, out of the blue, anyplace: coming from work, school, shopping, etc. And in most cases, when a complete stranger attacks suddenly without warning, your life is likely to be in danger. There are many ways to approach learning self-defense, such as picking an appropriate martial art. One of the drawbacks of leaning a martial art is the time commitment involved. Most fighting systems take a while to become fairly proficient at, and an ongoing commitment at maintain one’s skill level. If one chooses to study a martial art, things to consider could include:

• Picking a style that suits one’s body type and physical abilities
• Finding access to the right school
• Covering the costs
• Finding a reputable school: does the school treat its students with respect, its hygiene, etc…

For most people, keeping things simple works best. Most complex systems are motherless based on simple ones. For one to learn the skills to survive a street fight, it doesn’t necessarily take mastering a martial art; all one needs apart from confidence, awareness and a positive mind set is a reasonable proficiency in a few basic techniques. Regular practice at 3-5 basic fight-ending strikes is all one needs as far as physical skills go to build on. Since most streetfights are over in a few seconds, it is reasonable to say that all one likely has time for is to land a few decisive blows against their attacker, directing your body’s most powerful weapons against the weakest parts of their anatomy. Several things that one can safely say about street fights are:

• Most fights are decided by blows to the head
• Most attacks are sudden, awkward and involve enraged attackers
• Most people killed in streetfights die as a result of blows to the head while on the ground
• Nobody really “wins” a fight - the “winner” has a good chance at going to jail or being sued, and the “loser” stands to go to a trauma center or the morgue
• One’s environment is a great determinant in whether or not they are attacked: do you live or work in or near an impoverished area? do you frequent bars or nightclubs or other places where you are likely to be around intoxicated people? do you travel alone after dark?
• Avoiding getting into a fight and/or getting away from an attacker in the first place has the same net result as decisively “winning” a fight against them - you get to go home safe and unharmed

As for dealing with the psychological aspects of being attacked, which is best covered in a separate article, the best advice to date which covers a basic knowledge of street survival and close quarter hand to hand combat is found in the following manuals from several legendary experts in various fields of close quarter combat:

• Kill or Get Killed by Rex Applegate
• Championship Fighting by Jack Dempsey
• Get Tough by William Fairbairn

Although it has been a half-century since these manuals have been written, the advice in them would easily furnish one with the skills needed to have a fighting chance at surviving being attacked in the street.

suggested reading

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